The poll for the third stretch goal designs has finished. Thanks to everyone who voted! Interestingly, the results are somehow both extremely conclusive and... kind of inconclusive? The winner by an absolute landslide is the Art Nouveau Villa at 55%, with the Tudor Mansion as the runner-up at 22%. Since these designs are now confirmed as stretch goals, you can take a look at the finished art below:
As for the third place.. Not only do we have a tie between the Pueblo House and the Colombian House, but the Kath-Kuni Villa was only one vote apart from these two. So, that's the inconclusive part.
I've been thinking it over and deciding what we should do, and here's what I came up with:
1. The Art Nouveau Villa will be added to the $3500 stretch goal as the third unlocked design. That is, instead of becoming a part of the $4500 stretch goal, it'll actually unlock at $3500 with the Cottage and the Famous House. 2. The Tudor Mansion will be the first of three designs for the third, $4500 stretch goal. That means we'll need two more designs to add to that goal, so, that brings us to... 3. A new poll for the other two options for the $4500 goal!
You can see the new poll options below:
As you can see, I've added some castle options! I also did redesigns for the tied designs from the last poll to enhance the features people liked about them. The Pueblo House has more house, the Colombian House has more colors, and Kath-Kuni Villa has some design revisions to better show the features of Kath-Kuni architecture. I just wanted to breathe some new life into them to give them a proper second chance!
Short introductions to each design:
A. The Mosaic Castle (Central Asia) Using a palette of warm grays and bright blues, this castle is based on the gatehouses of medieval Central Asian fortified cities and their architecture of domes, towers, and arched doorways decorated in mosaics. The inside of this castle is truly exquisite! The ghosts here are mostly former world travelers, so if you have an interest in travel and other cultures, this is the house for you!
B. The Ruined Fort (Middle East) Inspired by medieval Middle-Eastern castles (most specifically the Ajloun Castle in Jordan), this ancient structure uses a mixture of warm and cool grays. The castle has stood in its place for centuries, so you can see the patchwork of expansions and repairs. Now, its ghost caretakers are letting nature reclaim parts of the fort, even as they work together to preserve and restore some of the decorative stone work inside the castle.
C. The Hilltop Outpost (Eastern Europe) This hilltop fortification is based on medieval Eastern European fortifications, visually relying on tones of cool gray and pops of red. It once served as an outpost for the border of a now-forgotten country and now stands quietly overlooking a lush valley. The ghosts like animal visitors better than living humans, so castle is somewhat overrun with wild critters like bats, birds, shrews, and the occasional hibernating bear in the winter.
D. Pueblo House 2.0 (North America) Drawing from traditional Pueblo architecture, this building uses earthy reds and blues as its main palette. While it looks like a single house, it's actually a cluster of multiple houses. If you're looking to live with ghosts but still have your own space, this house is perfect for it - but the artistically inclined ghosts will also gladly welcome you in the communal courtyards.
E. The Mountain Villa (Kath Kuni Villa 2.0) (Northern India) Inspired by the traditional Kath-Kuni construction style from northern India, the Kath Kuni Villa has a layered construction of wood and stone and a cantilevered top floor (adjusted to pin-able dimensions). The ghosts are always excited to talk to living (and dead) visitors and will gladly share the stories they've learned across decades with anyone who cares to listen.
F. The Colombian House 2.0 (South America) Now with more colors! Drawing from the architectural styles of northern Colombia, this house has a bright palette of yellow, blue, green, and pink. The ghosts take good care of the house, making sure to repaint it and tend to the garden to keep everything (more or less) as it was before. Despite a lack of blood relation, the ghosts treat each other -- and any visitors -- like family.
The poll is now up and will close in about 72 hours. Make sure to get your vote in before then!
I want to add one more note on the poll here. If the results end up as close as they were on the previous one, I'm going to break the tie on personal preference rather than running another poll. I'll likely try to prioritize adding one castle and one non-castle. That said, this is just in case the poll is really close again, which it might not be! We'll see what happens.
I'm very excited to work through refining and choosing designs with you all! I've never had quite this much back and forth before and it's actually been really fun for me to respond to suggestions with my own ideas and seeing what works and what doesn't for everyone supporting the campaign. I can't wait to see what kind of results we get in this new poll with a whole new category of designs!
As always, I'm deeply grateful for everyone's support and participation in this project. It means more to me than you can imagine!
